15 January, Thursday — Trust and Approach God with Humility

Thursday of Week 1 in Ordinary Time

1 Sam 4:1-11
Mk 1:40-45

“If you want to…you can cure me.”

As Chinese New Year approaches, I am reminded of the traditions I grew up with — like my father keeping the lights on past 1 am to ‘welcome luck’ into the new year. Looking back, I realise how such practices reflect a very human desire for control, for securing outcomes through rituals. This tension between superstition and true trust in God echoes in today’s first reading, where Israel treats the Ark of the Covenant as an instrument to force victory. Instead of approaching God with humility and repentance, they rely on an object, hoping it will fix their situation.

This theme of relying on human solutions hit very close to home today, when I discovered yet again that my neighbour had vandalised my plants — something that has happened repeatedly over the past six years — a familiar wave of frustration rose in me. Over time, I have tried so many ways to deter him: direct conversations, handwritten notes, even installing fake CCTVs. But when someone is deeply set in their irrational behaviour, there is only so much human effort can achieve. My immediate reaction today was anger, stress, and the strong urge to confront him. Yet without evidence, such confrontation would be futile. Still, I felt that inner pull to ‘fix things’ myself, driven more by emotion than by wisdom. In that moment, I recognised a bit of Israel in me — acting impulsively, relying on my own strength, and reacting out of frustration instead of pausing to seek God’s guidance.

In contrast, the second reading offers a profoundly different posture. The leper approaches Jesus not with demands or attempts to control the outcome, but with humility and trust: “If you wish, you can make me clean.” He acknowledges his brokenness, yet entrusts himself fully to Jesus’ will. As I reflected on this passage, I realised that what needed ‘cleansing’ today was not the external situation with my neighbour, but the inner turmoil — the anger, exhaustion, and helplessness accumulated over the years.

Installing a security camera may be a sensible step, but I want to act from a place of peace rather than retaliation. Faith does not mean doing nothing; it means inviting God to purify my heart first, so that whatever I do is guided by wisdom rather than impulse.

Both readings invite me to move from control to surrender, from self-reliance to trust, from reacting in anger to approaching God honestly. And so today, my prayer becomes the leper’s prayer: “Lord, if You wish, You can make me clean.” Cleanse my heart of the turmoil I cannot resolve on my own, and guide me to act with clarity, peace, and grace.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Geraldine Nah)

Prayer: Lord Jesus, cleanse my heart and calm my spirit. Help me respond with wisdom, not frustration, and to trust Your guidance in all things.

Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord, for Your gentle reminders and for your constant and calming presence in my life. Thank you for the grace that strengthens me each day. In these I pray in Your most Holy Name, Amen.

Image taken from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/633387443267907/